David Penn estimates only a quarter of Wanganui businesses have websites - and the others are missing out on an opportunity for worldwide sales.
His business, Webquest Ltd, is 2 years old and growing fast. It designs and manages websites - putting businesses and events on to the internet.
He's amazed more
Wanganui businesses aren't online.
One of his clients sells $67,000 motorsport engines, and has just put up a website. The owner discovered an unexpected appetite for motorsport in India and is about to gear his website toward it.
"It's a whole new market. He's quite excited about it," Mr Penn said.
At the most basic level, Webquest will make a two-page website which is all some businesses need.
But managing a website could make it a much more effective marketing tool, Mr Penn said.
There were techniques to place sites high up in Google search engines. Databases and newsletters could be used.
Webquest manages 200 websites, some from Wanganui enterprises and others from elsewhere in New Zealand and overseas. Another strand to Webquest is growing fast and likely to spin off into a separate business. That's the wanganuionline website.
Mr Penn's team developed it in an attempt to get recognised by Wanganui District Council as the official website for the district. It wasn't chosen but they had done so much work that Mr Penn decided to keep it going anyway.
It lists businesses and events, births, deaths, public notices, sports draws and racing fixtures and it's about to start asking people to submit information to it by email.
More and more people were gathering basic daily information online, he said. "There's going to be quite an appetite for that. It's huge, and the potential is phenomenal."
Brought up in Wanganui, Mr Penn spent 20 years as a stockbroker in London.
He returned to his home town for the lifestyle, and then spent four years managing the Masters' Games.
His is the second business to move into the former Wanganui Produce Centre building refurbished by owner Alex Garrett.
Webquest is leasing a three bedroom apartment upstairs. Mr Penn and three staff work there, and the business has another two staff.
One works from Te Aroha and the other from Canada, and they communicate by email and Skype.
www.webquest.co.nz
www.wanganuionline.com
